Beyoncé has a dog, as we learned from paparazzi photographs of Beyoncé, Blue, Julius and a longtime staffer walking said dog in New York City this week. Some people seem to think that this dog is a poodle. I’m not of that belief.

I believe Beyoncé’s dog is a Maltese Toy, which as a very cute face and also barks a lot. Its fur is not as curly as a poodle’s though from this distance it’s hard to tell.

There’s also the possibility that it is a Portuguese Water Dog, the same kind of dog that the Obamas have, a breed that is notoriously good with children. The Knowles-Carters are friends with POTUS and FLOTUS, so we can feasibly imagine them administering dog purchasing advice. However, Portuguese Water Dogs tend to be larger than this particular dog—an average of 17 to 22 inches high, according to the American Kennel Club—unless it is a puppy, which is possible as we have never before seen this dog, in the accompaniment of Beyoncé, in public, to my knowledge.